So says the latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI)/Grant Thornton survey of the services industry, which found those businesses selling services like holidays and flights, and beauty treatments, were worst hit in the last three months.

However, hotels, bars and restaurants bucked the trend with decent growth in the same period. There was also strong demand for services to business, such as accountancy, law and property.

The report said the poor summer weather is also likely to have affected demand for outdoor leisure activities and travel.